Rangers, Padres to play exhibitions at Alamodome

San Antonio venue to host Major League games for first time March 29-30

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers and the Padres are going to play the first two Major League games to be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The two teams will meet in a pair of exhibition games at the end of Spring Training. The first game will be at 7:05 p.m. CT/5:05 p.m. PT on March 29 and the second will be at 1:05 p.m. CT/11:05 a.m. PT on March 30. Tickets will go on sale Nov. 30.

The San Antonio Missions are the Padres' farm team in the Double-A Texas League. The event is being organized by Ryan-Sanders Baseball, the group that owns the Triple-A Round Rock Express and the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.

"We're excited about the opportunity to be playing in the first-ever baseball games in the Alamodome," Rangers president Nolan Ryan said. "We appreciate the support of everyone involved from the city, the Missions and the Padres as well."

The Alamodome will need to be converted into a temporary baseball facility, including AstroTurf, custom fences, padded walls, dugouts and bullpens. It will be able to hold over 52,000 for baseball.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done before March," said Ryan Sanders CEO Reid Ryan, "but we've got a great team in place and have the right partners to get there. This obviously can't happen without the Rangers and Padres, but ultimately it was Dave Elmore and the San Antonio Missions that made this a reality. This market has been the Missions' for over 100 years and we are grateful for Dave's willingness to partner on the event."

The Missions have been the Padres' Double-A affiliate since 2007. Third baseman Chase Headley was the Texas League's Most Valuable Player in 2007. The two-game series allows the Padres an easier transition from their Spring Training base in Peoria, Ariz., to their season opener against the Mets on April 1 in New York.

"Playing against the Rangers in San Antonio in this unique venue will be a fantastic opportunity as we prepare for Opening Day," Padres manager Bud Black. "Many of our players taking part in that weekend will be guys who were on the 2007 and 2011 Texas League championship teams, and we'll be looking forward to Missions' fans having a chance to see them, and all of our 2013 squad, playing in San Antonio."

The Rangers open the season on April 2 against the Astros in Houston. This will be the fourth time the Rangers will have played an exhibition game in San Antonio. They played two games against the Indians in 1973 and one game each against the Astros in '77 and '78.